Today’s Poses: Extended Side Angle Pose and Intense Side Stretch Pose

Extended Side Angle Pose

Extended Side Angle Pose — Utthita Parsvakonasana (oo-TEE-tah PARZH-vuh-ko-NAHS-uh-nuh) — is a standing yoga pose that utilizes all of the muscles in the body.  There are several variations of the pose to accommodate various levels of flexibility. It’s usually simply referred to as “Parsvakonasana,” or “Side Angle Pose.”

Instructions

1. Begin in Mountain Pose (Tadasana). Turn to the left and extend your arms sideways to shoulder height, palms facing down. Step your feet as wide apart as your wrists. Align your heels.
2. Turn your right leg and foot outward 90 degrees so your toes point to the top of your mat. Bend your right knee until your right thigh is parallel to the floor (you may need to widen your stance). Keep your right knee directly over your heel. Turn in your left toes slightly. Align the heel of your right foot with the arch of your left foot. Keep your back leg straight. Inhale and draw your left hip slightly forward.
3. Keep your torso open to the left; do not turn your body in the direction of your right leg. Gaze out across the top of your right middle finger.
4. Exhaling, lower your right arm so your forearm rests on your right thigh.
5. Reach your left arm up towards the ceiling, and then extend your arm over the top of your head. Your left bicep should be over your left ear, and your fingertips should be reaching in the same direction your front toes are pointing. Keep your chest, hips, and legs in one straight line, extended over your front leg.
6. Turn your head to look up at the ceiling. Keep your throat soft and your breathing smooth. Relax your face.
7. To deepen the pose, lower your front hand to the floor, placing your palm next to the inside arch of your front foot. For a deeper chest and shoulder opening, place your front hand on the outside of your front foot. You can also rest your front hand on a yoga block.
8. Make sure your front knee does not drop inward. Keep your front thigh externally rotating with your knee drawn slightly toward the baby toe of your front foot. Press firmly through the outer edge of your back foot.
9. Hold for up to one minute.
10. To release, press firmly through your back foot. Then, exhale as you slowly come up to a standing position with your arms extended at shoulder-height. Turn your feet and body so they face the same direction, and then step your feet together. Return to the top of your mat in Mountain Pose (Tadasana). Repeat on the opposite side.

Benefits

• Parsvakonasana relieves stiffness in the shoulders and back. It provides a deep stretch to the groins and hamstrings, and it also improves stamina.
• This pose strengthens the legs, knees, and ankles, while also stretching and toning the abdominal muscles. It is known to be therapeutic for constipation, infertility, sciatica, menstrual discomfort, and low backache.
• This pose requires and builds strength throughout the entire body, and is, therefore, best practiced closer to the beginning or the middle of a standing pose sequence.
• It helps to prepare the body for deeper leg and groin stretches, such as Bound Angle Pose (Baddha Konasana) and Wide-Angle Seated Forward Fold (Upavistha Konasana).

Intense Side Angle Pose

Steps

• From Tadasana step your left leg back, about 1 meter (3 to 4 feet), feet on two different train tracks, right foot facing forward, left foot slightly turned out.
• Keeping your hips facing the front of your mat. Make sure your knees point in the same direction as your toes.
• Ground through your feet, engage your legs, and place your hands in reverse prayer behind your back.
• Inhale as you lengthen your spine and exhale as you fold forward from the hips. Stop before your back begins to round.
• Roll your left thigh inward, while keeping your right hip back.
• Hold the pose for 5 to 10 deep breaths before repeating on the other side.
• To come out actively push through the back heel, engage the core and come up with a straight spine.

Benefits

• Stretches the legs, hips, spine, shoulders, and wrists.
• Strengthens the legs and core.
• Improves balance and digestion.
• Stimulates the abdominal organs and digestion.
• Calms the mind.

Extended Side Angle and Intense Side Stretch Pose provides a deep stretch to the groins and hamstrings, and it also improves stamina.